The Eiffel Bridge () is a bridge over the River Prut and a checkpoint between Moldova and Romania. The bridge is located between

Ungheni Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District. There is a bridge across the Prut and a List of Moldova–Romania border crossings, border chec ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

History

On a Russian diplomatic agent, Ivan Alekseevich Zinov'ev, and Gheorghe Costaforu signed a rail junction convention, which was ratified on .Frederick Kellogg, ''The Road to Romanian Independence'', 1995, p. 84 and the

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

-Ungheni railway was opened on 1 August 1874. The railway

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

- Cornești-Ungheni (built 1871–1875) was opened on 1 June 1875 by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in preparation for the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, Romania, Principality of Serbia, Serbia, and Principality of ...

. Ungheni customs were established in 1875 after putting into operation the Chișinău-Ungheni-Iași railroad. The railway Chișinău-Cornești was already opened in 1873. The first metal bridge was built according to the design of the Russian engineer Nikolai Belelubsky between 1874-1876. The first Russian troops crossed the bridge in 1877. Due to a testing process that lasted another 5 years, the bridge did not come into civilian use until 1881. It was blown up by retreating Russian troops on 22 June 1941 and rebuilt for the needs of German-Romanian troops. Bombed in 1944, it was rebuilt by the Russians between 1944 and 1946. Today, the bridge remains a strategically positioned construction under the supervision of border guards.

Gallery

File:09.05.2024 - Vizita comună în Republica Moldova a Președinților Grupurilor de prietenie din parlamentele statelor membre ale Uniunii Europene - DSC 1369.jpg, The bridge in 2024 Podul Eiffel de peste Prut, situat la granița dintre Romînia și Moldova.jpg, Aerial view of the Eiffel Bridge

Notes

External links

Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova
* {{in lang, ro}

Bridges in Moldova Bridges completed in 1877 Bridges over the Prut Railway bridges in Romania Railway bridges in Moldova Moldova–Romania border crossings Romania–Soviet Union relations Buildings and structures in Iași County Ungheni 1877 establishments in the Russian Empire Gustave Eiffel's designs

History

Gallery

See also

Notes

External links